A few days ago, somebody over in the Scribophile forums posed a question about what different members’ writing processes looked like. And there are a lot of ways you can approach writing. Some people are plotters, some are pantsers. I happen to be a combination of the two. But to make my process clear, let me go through it with you step by step, with handy images to illustrate each point.

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Step 1 – Get struck by brilliant idea somewhere that is not conducive to writing, such as while driving the car or when taking a shower.

Probably not the smartest way to multi-task.

Step 2 – Pants the pants off the first several scenes and/or chapters until hitting a point where I know where I want the story to end, but have no idea how to get there.

It’s often 90% adrenaline, 7% caffeine, and 3% brilliant idea.

Step 3 – Eat some chocolate, watch stupid YouTube videos, create character profiles, which includes scouring the web for photos of actors who could play the parts and/or create images on Morph Thing.

Is there something on my face?

Step 4 – Plot a general outline.

And you thought you were close to reducing your carbon footprint.

Step 5 – Work through the outline, adjusting and adding scenes as necessary.

It’s not a quick process.

Step 6 – Finish a draft, rejoice, eat more chocolate.

If it’s celebratory, it has no fat or calories, right?

Step 7 – Let the draft sit for at least three weeks. Do lots of workouts to counteract the chocolate.

Eh, that’s sufficient.

Step 8 – Read through from beginning to end, out loud and possibly using accents, marking places that need editing and revision.